


Dancing On the Line

by Cupcakemolotov



Series: come alive [29]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Caroline is still pissed, F/M, Hunters, Klaus is still reeling, Vampire!Caroline, hybrid!Klaus, post-bite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 01:40:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14345289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cupcakemolotov/pseuds/Cupcakemolotov
Summary: When the hunters come for her, Caroline finds herself safe in the last place she'd have looked.





	Dancing On the Line

Caroline ran.

Her sleepy Saturday morning had erupted with blood and her mother's screams. Liz' shouting hadn't been of pain, but warning, and Caroline had done as her mother had ordered. Her right side was on fire, and her bare feet protested sharply at each quick impact, but she kept going.

It'd been a concern, once they'd started to think through their grief that Bill hadn't kept it quiet that his daughter had been turned. Liz had sat her down with grim eyes, warned Caroline softly that some of her father's friends would never see her as anything but a monster.

_"You saw Steven's face."_

_Caroline swallowed and nodded, spoon moving listlessly through her rapidly congealing cereal. "Yeah. I did."_

_Liz looked away for a long moment. "I told Steven it wasn't your doing, but I don't know how convinced he was that you are safe. Odds are, he'll hold his tongue, but I don't know if Bill was quiet about why he was visiting."_

_"He was helping Tyler to gain control over his change," Caroline said tonelessly._

_"Sounds about right," Liz said wearily. "Your father was obsessed with control. I need you to promise me, honey, that if I ever tell you to run, you go. No questions asked, no argument. You run."_

_Wary, Caroline looked at her mother. "Mom…"_

_Blue eyes steely, Liz sipped her coffee. "These people that your father ran with, they aren't the reasonable sort. They won't hurt me, but they'd stake you without thought. You run, Caroline, when I tell you too."_

Out her window and over the fence, the sudden white-hot pain in her side followed by an explosion of sound told her she'd been lucky to escape. They'd flanked the house, had expected Liz to warn her.

Dodging around a tree, she screamed in surprise and pain as she slammed into something solid. They both should have gone down with the impact, but a solid arm wrapped around her hips, and she sucked in a breath as her nose brushed against warm skin.

Klaus.

Relief was quickly followed by unease. She hadn't spoken to Klaus since the night she'd nearly died. The burn of his bite was a painful memory, the sharpness of betrayal when Tyler left her with Klaus without a second glance still stung.

She'd been left to die with a monster.

"Out for a morning run, sweetheart?"

For all that his words could be construed as teasing, the tenseness of his muscles and the rasp in his words told a different story. She pushed against his chest and ignored the pinprick of wistfulness as he released her. Klaus was many, many things, but despite his words to her, he'd proven safe would never be one of them.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline demanded.

He continued to stare behind her with narrowed eyes, his attention caught by something she couldn't hear. "I enjoy mornings and I heard someone running. I thought I'd investigate."

She opened her mouth and then closed it with a snap as she realized he was right. She'd ran further than she'd realized. Caroline cursed, and took a quick step away. She needed to head to the boarding house, check the blood supply and figure out how to contact her mom.

Klaus finally looked away from what had held his attention, gaze dark as he took in her bloody nightwear. Caroline was thankful she'd worn a dark tank top and shorts, even if it was apparent she wasn't wearing a bra. But there was nothing sexual in his perusal, just a growing violence as his gaze lingered on her side.

"You're still bleeding."

Caroline lowered her chin and cursed. "Dammit. Vervained buckshot is such a bitch."

Klaus caught her hand before she could move to tug her shirt up. Her eyes flashed to his, and her heart lurched at the dangerous glint behind his eyes as he watched her, pulse skittering at the memory of the last time he'd worn that expression. Stubborn, chin angling up, she glared at him.

"Let go."

"When," he asked, voice a blade. "Did you learn that particular tidbit? Alaric didn't shoot you."

Caroline tugged at his hold. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

Klaus' expression turned inscrutable. His voice had lost none of its edge when he spoke again. "Who is hunting you?"

"Also, none of your business. My life is none of your concern, Klaus."

"Be careful, Caroline."

She bared her teeth. "Why, you going to bite me again?"

Her pulse kicked at the yellow that ringed his gaze, but sudden shouting jerked her head around. Before she could pick a direction to flash, her feet left the ground and the world blurred. Caroline held herself stiff, and when they came to a stop, her mouth ran bone dry at the sight of Klaus' home.

He set her down, and she set her jaw as he stepped around her. Klaus opened the door, pausing to glance back where she was standing awkwardly on the porch. "You can run along to the boarding house if you'd like. I'm sure you can find blood, what you need to deal your wounds. If you're careful, the hunters won't pick up your trail from here and once they step foot on my property, they won't be leaving."

She curled her fingers into fists, nails pressing into her palms, and he arched a brow at her mutinous face. His eyes softened, voice lowering.

"Or you can come inside and let me assist you. Your choice, Caroline."

Caroline hesitated, torn. The last time she'd dug out buckshot on her own, it'd hurt like a bitch. Doing it left handed would be worse. Stefan and Damon were missing, and Klaus had ensured Tyler was long gone, again.

She didn't want his help. But she hadn't fought so hard for her life to let her pride ruin it now. Klaus waited her out, silent and outwardly unconcerned. Only the yellow in his eyes and the grip on the door gave him away. Taking a deep breath, Caroline stepped forward and paused next to him. Lifting her gaze, she met his squarely, jaw set.

"To be clear, I'm not any less pissed at you."

A ghost of a smile, dangerous for all that it merely hinted at his dimples. "I'd hardly expect anything less."

She didn't flinch, although she wanted too. Tyler hadn't understand why she was pissed. He'd been hurt by her cold facade and angry words. It'd had sat like lead in her stomach, that he'd returned to Hayley, but she'd refused to bend. It was one thing to swallow her pride and to fight for her life. It was to be abandoned to her fate, to fight alone.

Tyler had done what he thought was best.

Part of her despised him for it.

"You need blood," he said behind her as she walked into the sitting room.

"Only if it's in a bag," she replied firmly. She didn't expect that low noise of agreement or for his footsteps to lead away from her. Caroline sat gingerly on the couch, didn't care if she bled on his furniture. The rug she'd laid on while dying was gone, and her toes curled against the cool wood.

She felt a little naked, in her sleep shorts and tank, feet bare and stinging as they healed. Gingerly, she lifted the ruined side of her shirt and carefully wiped at the seeping wounds, lips pressed tightly together.

Footsteps caught her attention, and Klaus stepped back inside. One hand held a blood bag, and the other a dark towel and what might have been tweezers. He handed her the former as he crouched at her hip.

"If you're lucky, the blood will push the rest of the shot out."

She took the bag with a nod, heart fluttering as she read B-Positive across the front. Determinedly not thinking of how or why, she forced herself to only think of blood. It wasn't hard. She didn't bother with her usual neat habits, her wound leaving her hungry. Eyes sliding shut, she ate in gulps until the bag was dry, lowering it once she'd finished.

She opened her eyes, tongue swiping out to catch the last of the blood, and stilled as her gaze collide with Klaus'. He sat motionless, skin drawn taut across the lines of his cheekbones. But it was the hybrid gold of his eyes, burning with a desire she didn't know how to comprehend.

Then Klaus blinked, and she sucked in a breath, forcing her vampire back down. Flushed from blood and an aching awareness, she hissed when he moved her shirt to get a look at her wound. The rumbling noise he made in response helped neither of her reactions. Neither did the careful way his fingers glided across her skin.

"It looks like I'll have to dig a few out after all. Unless you'd like to try a bite from me."

Her nails cut into her palm at his casual offer. Klaus watched her from beneath his lashes, and she glared at him. Setting her teeth, she turned her face away. "It's fine."

She kept her eyes firmly on the ceiling as he shifted around. The metal was cold against her skin, and she sucked in a breath as he inserted the tweezers. Klaus was quick, but it burned anyway.

"Tell me about the hunters."

Caroline dug her fingers into her thigh. "Why?"

"I occasionally enjoy knowing the people I kill."

She hissed out a breath as the first piece of shot was dropped onto the floor. It looked like it was made of wood instead of steel or lead, and she licked her lips. "I don't know them. But they might have known my dad. My mom's still with them."

"How many?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

A moment of silence and two more pieces of shot joined the first. Her eyes watered, and the smell of her blood was heavy in the air.

"It doesn't matter," he said softly. "There aren't enough." Her breath hitched at the implied violence. His thumb brushed across her wounds, and he made a low noise. "One more, sweetheart."

Taking his warning for what it was, she squeezed her eyes shut. This one hurt, and she bit down on her knuckles to hold in her cry. When Klaus finished, he wiped at her skin as she shuddered. The blood had helped, and the worst of it disappeared in a matter of moments.

"You'll need another blood bag."

"I can get one later," Caroline said stubbornly, hips shifting away from as him. Her gaze reluctantly returned to his just as he lifted his bloody fingers to his mouth and licked them clean. Her lips parted, heart slamming into her throat.

"Why?" He questioned mildly. "I have what you need."

She licked her lips, tried not to shudder at the way he watched her. "Why do you have blood bags?"

Klaus stood without answering, head tilted. "What bargain will we need to strike, for you stay here while I deal with this?"

She pushed to her feet, eyes flashing. "My mom…"

Fingers that still smelled of her blood pressed lightly against her lips and Caroline jerked back. Klaus followed her, and his other hand reached into his back pocket to offer her his phone. "Call your mother. Assure yourself that she is fine."

She paused, fingers hovering over his cell. "Why? What do you get from this?"

An arch of his brows. "Perhaps I'm attempting to make amends."

"I doubt that."

His smile was amused, and he pressed his phone into her hand. "Noted. There is blood in the kitchen, and you are welcome to make yourself comfortable in any of the rooms. I'm sure we can find you a new top."

Caroline stepped back into his space, eyes narrowed. He didn't flinch from her perusal, his body remaining relaxed. "If my mom doesn't answer, you can't keep me here."

"I won't," he said. "But if she does, will you stay?"

She glared at him, before lowering her eyes to the phone and rapidily typing out her mom's cell number. If that didn't work she'd try the house and then the station. She wouldn't allow herself to think about what any of this meant, not now.

The phone started to ring, and she took a slow breath. "Fine. But this doesn't mean I forgive you."

Her mom's voice came over the line just before it clicked over to her voicemail, and she squeezed her eyes shut in relief. When she opened them, Klaus was watching her with eyes that saw too much. His lips curved as his head tilted and he stepped away.

Even over the sound of her mother's demands that she not come home, that she stay safe, she heard his promise as Klaus left.

"I know where to start now, sweetheart. You'll be home by dinner."

Taking a deep breath, stomach a knotted mess, she determinedly headed for the kitchen to find that blood as she assured Liz that she was safe. She would see what kind of bathrooms he had in this place, do her best to ignore that she'd almost died here. And maybe she hadn't forgiven him, but if he kept her mom safe, she'd think about it.


End file.
